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Stephen Russell

Bio

Stephen leads the Corporate GHG Accounting Project at WRI, which seeks to develop (inter)nationally recognized best practices for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management for organizations. He is currently managing projects in Brazil and elsewhere to create GHG measurement tools for agribusiness.

He has led the development of a GHG accounting protocol for the US public sector (subsequently adopted by US federal agencies under EO 13514) and various accounting protocols and tools for specific industrial sectors, including the Chinese coal-fired power sector and metals production. Stephen has also assisted the creation of the GHG Protocol Brazil Program, a voluntary, corporate GHG reporting program in Brazil.

Stephen previously conducted academic research on ecology and population genetics. His research fields encompassed the spread of invasive species in the Caribbean and southern Africa, population demographic analysis, and speciation.

Stephen spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher with the Max-Planck Research Society in Germany. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) and a BSc. (Hons.) in Biology from the University of York (England).

Two new resources aim to reduce the emissions intensity of Brazil’s agricultural sector. The guidance offers an emissions accounting framework for all companies with agricultural operations—whether they produce animals or plants for food, fiber, biofuels, drugs, or other purposes. The calculation tool drills down into specific practices and emissions-intensive subsectors like soy, corn, cotton, wheat, rice, sugar cane, and cattle.

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol celebrates its 15th anniversary this year; it was established to develop and promote the use of best practices for accounting and reporting GHG emissions. Stephen Russell reflects on the project's history and impact, and discusses next steps for an evolving GHG accounting landscape.

Scientific understanding of the chemicals that contribute to climate change is constantly improving. So, too, is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), as we work to keep abreast of such advances and ensure that they are reflected in our tools and standards.

One recent example concerns the greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), a chemical that is released in some high-tech industries, including in the manufacture of many electronics. The GHG Protocol now requires NF3 to be included in GHG inventories under the Corporate Standard, Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, and Product Standard. A new GHGP Amendment updates the existing requirements.

How does this update affect my organization?

NF3 is used in a relatively small number of industrial processes. It is primarily produced in the manufacture of semiconductors and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels, and certain types of solar panels and chemical lasers. To the extent that these processes occur in your company’s direct operations or value chain, they may need to be reflected in future inventories to ensure conformance with GHG Protocol standards.

Agriculture is a major actor in spurring global climate change. The sector is already responsible for at least 10-12 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and agricultural emissions are expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030.

Key Challenges to Measuring Agricultural Emissions

Reporting agricultural emissions in GHG inventories is a decidedly complex endeavor, which can hinder reduction efforts. For example, agricultural emissions are strongly affected by weather and are therefore often calculated with a large amount of uncertainty. This ambiguity makes it challenging to set and track progress toward reduction targets. The carbon stored in biomass and soils can often be emitted into the atmosphere, making it imperative that companies do not over- or under-count the impact of farming practices on stored carbon. And companies vary widely in how they control different parts of agricultural supply chains—such as commodity production, processing, and retail —so it’s difficult to maintain consistency in how inventories are reported.

This past Sunday, WRI’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol team conducted a session at the Rio+20 event, “The Green Economy: Driving Business Value and Competitiveness.” The session included great dialogue between business leaders, policy makers, and WRI experts, and featured one very significant declaration: The British Ambassador to Brazil, Alan Charlton, announced GHG Protocol’s groundbreaking new work with Brazil’s agriculture sector. For the first time, GHG Protocol will develop a guidance that allows Brazilian companies and individual farms to measure, report, and manage greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

Thousands of companies have developed greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories in recent years as a crucial first step towards measuring and ultimately reducing their emissions. Agricultural emissions are a large part of many of those inventories: farming is currently responsible for between 10 and 12 percent of global GHG emissions. Globally, agricultural emissions are expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

There is much uncertainty about how agricultural emissions should be reported in GHG inventories, a situation that hinders measurement and reduction efforts in the sector. To address this issue, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is developing industry-wide best practices for reporting agricultural GHG emissions.